


A Beautiful Delusion

by skycloud86



Category: 24 (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 21:53:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 4,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29496834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skycloud86/pseuds/skycloud86
Summary: A facade falls. Spoilers for Season One. Dialogue and characters are property of Fox.Originally posted on FFN in 2008.





	1. The Mask Slips

_**Author's Note - Apologies if the Serbian is inaccurate, as I don't speak it and used an online translator.** _

She slipped behind the divide and hesitated for a moment, before taking out her cellphone and dialling a number not often called. As she waited for her call to be answered, she thought of the implications of what she was about to say, the consequences of this particular act.

" _Da?",_ the voice, which had a heavy Slavic accent, belonged to Andre Drazen, the mastermind of much of that day's events. He spoke in Serbian, his mother tongue, and she, ever the talented linguist, replied in the same language.

 _"Ono Yelena_ ", she replied. They knew her only as Yelena, so that it wasn't easy for them to know exactly who they were working with. Of course, her employers could easily reveal her true identity, but for what reason? Thoughts of her CTU colleagues ran through her mind as she waited for his reply.

 _"Za'sto si vama zanimanje?"._ Andre seemed surprised. Of course, Yelena didn't call unless it was absolutely necessary. He was curious as to the reason behind this particular call, especially as it came just minutes after their plans had been successfully carried out.

 _"Palmer nije vididrugi be mrtav",_ Yelena revealed. There was no turning back now, and she knew that there would be a good chance that she would have her cover blown or would have to do something that risked it.

 _"Kakav?"_. Andre was shocked. How could he have survived that blast? Was Bauer still alive too? Whatever good mood he was in disappeared fast.

 _"To je jedan varati izrada vama smatrati. Cuvanje devojka ziv"._ Andre almost believed that it was a joke, but Yelena sounded serious and he knew that she wouldn't make light of such a situation. He needed to be convinced, however, in order to prepare for any fallout from the attempted assassination that was surely heading their way.

 _"Ti si nesumnjiv ova?"._ Yelena was very much in agreement with Andre's disbelief. She probably wouldn't have believed it herself if she was in Andre's shoes.

 _'Da, jesam nesumnjiv"._ She ended the call and breathed a sigh of relief. Now all she had to do was hope that the Drazens didn't mess things up, because she knew that her cover was already starting to fall away. She put the phone back in her pocket just as Tony Almeida approached her.

"Oh, there you are, Nina". He said to her, happy to have found her at last. She gave him a smile before replying, the beautiful facade slipping back seamlessly.


	2. An Ode To Betrayal

Armed with some new information, Nina called Andre, unsure on how he would react to the revelation she was about to reveal to him.

"Yes?". Andre sounded worried. He had every right to be - Kim had escaped and may or may not have drowned, and she had been their magnet to attract Jack to their hideout.

"It's me". The conversation this time was in English, more business-like and less friendly, much like the atmosphere.

"What is it? What's happened?". Andre was curious. Yelena was phoning yet again, and he was anxious that their plan would fail.

"They found his daughter. She'll be here within the hour". Andre cursed under his breath in Serbian. The girl was alive, and if Bauer found out, he would never come! He decided to find out.

"Does Bauer know?". He asked, hoping that he didn't.

"No. Not yet. I'm the only one who's in contact with him. I've been ordered by CTU to send in two teams. They're on their way". Andre was both relieved and worried by what Yelena had just told him, and realised that they didn't have much time if they wanted to get out of the US alive.

"Right. Hold on", Andre replied, before lowering the phone and talking to his father, Victor."They found the girl. Bauer doesn't know, but the CTU people are already on their way. We have to get you out of here. He won't come if we can't produce the girl. He's not stupid. Father, we barely have time to make it into international waters as it is. I can't risk you getting captured again.". There was a hint of desperation in Andre's voice. A lot had gone wrong that day, but he was prepared to cut his losses and run, even if Jack Bauer was still alive. It wasn't as if this was their only chance ever of killing him. Victor asked him to pass the phone over.

"Can you contact Bauer?", Victor asked. He was hopeful that Yelena would be of great use to them, if they were to get their revenge that night.

"Yes", Nina confirmed.

"Tell him his daughter's dead. Her body was found floating in the harbour". Nina paled slightly. This was obviously an even bigger risk to her cover than she had originally thought, but she didn't have a choice but to comply. If she didn't, her employers would not let it go unpunished.

"You'll have to kill him. No mistakes. If he finds out I've lied to him, my cover will be blown". She tried to hide her anxiety as she replied, although she wasn't convinced that she had succeeded.

"Of course we will kill him. That is the point", Victor assured her. He sort of liked Yelena, although he knew next to nothing about her, and hoped that her cover would indeed stay intact.


	3. Eye For An Eye

Jack had arrived at the harbour and was awaiting a call from Andre, when his phone rang.

"Andre?", he asked, hoping that it was indeed the man who had his daughter.

"No. It's me. I think you should come back to CTU", Nina answered, with no sign of her earlier anxiety. The facade was back in place, and as far as Nina was concerned, it was going to stay there.

"I can't. I'm running out of time. I'm going in to get Kim now". Jack sounded determined, and Nina grew worried. She knew what had to happen, and part of her felt sadness at Jack's impending demise. Her feelings for him, which had been put deep at the back of her mind, were still strong and she couldn't help but feel regret.

"I don't know how to tell you this, Jack", she said, making sure her voice had just the right tone.

"What is it, Nina? Nina, what is it?". Jack sounded worried, and a part of Nina just wanted to tell him that Kim was ok, that she was at CTU, that everything would be alright. She, however, knew that such an outcome was impossible.

"A coastguard cutter answered the APB we put out on Kim. They found her body, Jack". And so her fate was taken out of her hands. Now all she could do was hope that the Drazens would be true to their word.

"What?". His voice had changed dramatically, and Nina could almost see his face as he spoke.

"I'm sorry. She's dead". And the final nail was hammered in.

"No". Jack's world had just, in a matter of seconds, collapsed. He was like a little boy now, lost and upset.

"Jack, I'm so sorry. I know... Jack? Jack?". Nina's last words before he hung up. She had no idea what he was planning, and no idea if her cover was about to be blown wide open or not. Jack, however, knew exactly what he was planning, as he loaded his gun.


	4. Sealing Fates

_**Author's Note - Again, apologies for the bad German, as I don't speak it and used an Internet translator.** _

Nina was in the transformer room, preparing her exfiltration. The Drazens had failed - not that Nina was surprised - and now she had to get out of there before they found her. Before Jack found her.

" _Meine deckung ist gebrochen. Sie müssen mich von hier_ ", Nina spoke in German on her phone to the woman who would help her escape the country, and lie low for a while. Now she had been exposed, she knew that undercover work was now impossible, and she knew that she had to get out of the country as soon and as quickly as possible. As she was talking, she didn't notice Teri Bauer coming into the room.

" _Ich bin koordinierung ihre beförderung. Sie müssen alles löschen, die sie kompromiss_ ", the woman on the other end told her with an emotionless, almost mechanical voice. Of course, this was all routine to her, and she didn't particularly care whether or not Nina got out successfully.

" _Ich weiß das protokoll. Ich bin bereit zu gehen_ ", Nina replied, with a bit more emotion evident in her voice. She was starting to panic, and just wanted to get out of there.

" _Sehr gut, stellen sie sicher, sie sind gründliche_ ", the woman emphasised the last part. Getting rid of the evidence was probably the most important thing right now, if Nina was to remain useful to her employers. Nina suddenly noticed Teri's presence and decided to reply in her own language.

"Just call me when it's time", she spoke, trying not to sound suspicious. The woman on the other end would understand why Nina had suddenly switched languages.

"Someone is there?". She knew that there would be, but she had to make sure that it was the reason for Nina's language switch.

"I understand", she told Nina before hanging up. As Nina put her phone down, Teri decided it was time to talk to her, although Nina's use of another language had made her curious.

"You speak German?". Teri was surprised, as not too many people around Los Angeles were fluent in German. Spanish, obviously, or perhaps Italian or an Asian language, but she had never met someone who spoke German before.

"Frankfurt Division. Something wrong?". Nina's statement was a lie - CTU was a domestic unit - but it obviously worked, as Teri's curiosity was satisfied.

"Yeah. I just heard there was some big shoot-out. I can't get anyone out there to tell me what's going on". Teri hoped that Nina, who she trusted and had begun to like, would be able to give her some more information. She was worried about Jack, and just wanted the whole ordeal to be over.

"Teri, calm down. Jack and Kim are fine. They're on their way here right now". Nina hoped that by mentioning Jack and Kim, that Teri would indeed calm down and leave her alone.

"Are you sure?". Teri was apprehensive about believing Nina. After all, that day had just been a huge cycle where they were safe and then in danger before being safe once more.

"Positive". Nina smiled at Teri, hoping that Teri would finally be convinced.

"And what about the men that were after Kim and me?". Teri wanted to know that the threat had finally passed, that there would be no more repeats of the day.

"They're dead. You and Kim are completely safe, and so is Jack". Nina stole a quick glance at her laptop, which was burning information onto a disc.

"OK. I just want us all to be back together again". Teri was relieved, and this showed in her face.

"It won't be long". Nina wasn't sure whether she was talking about the Bauers being reunited, or the end of her freedom. Her cellphone rang again.

"Thank God". Teri's eyes were full of joy, and her grin was huge. She was tired, but sleep was the last thing on her mind. To her, the most important thing was seeing her family again.

"I'm sorry, I still have a lot of work to do. So if there's nothing else..". Nina was anxious. She had to take the call, but with Teri in the room and talking to her, that was not going to happen. She knew what would happen if she missed the call and hoped that Teri would take the hint.

"There is, actually. Um… This is all a little awkward, Nina, but… It's my guess that you still have feelings for Jack, and now that we're back together again and we're gonna have a baby…". Nina was amazed at the news, and a little annoyed that Teri just had to mention her feelings for a man she had just betrayed. She decided to tell Teri the truth with carefully selected words.

"Teri… As soon as this is over, I plan to have myself transferred out of this office". Teri's face showed sympathy for Nina.

"Really?". Teri sounded almost as if she didn't want to believe it, that she wanted Nina to stay. Of course, Nina had done a lot for her and her family that day, and she actually had grown fond of the other woman.

"Yes", Nina confirmed. It was true, of course, although transfer was a bit of a misnomer considering the circumstances.

"Oh, Nina, I'm sorry…". Nina wondered why exactly Teri was sorry. Did she feel guilty, think that because Jack went back to her, Nina wanted to run away?

"There's no need to apologize. If anything, I appreciate your being honest". Nina said this with a smile, as if talking to a good friend. She then took the call that had been waiting for her for the past few minutes.

"This is Myers". Using her native tongue, and CTU protocol, she warned the woman that she still had company.

"You're still not alone?". Nina was starting to get a little annoyed. She had talked to the woman before, but was always irritated by the way she had to ask the most obvious of questions. Nina decided not to let this annoyance show in her voice.

"That's right", she answered, hoping that Teri would assume it was just another work-related call.

"Listen carefully. Procedures are in place. Collect all of your information. We have arranged for your extraction". Nina was relieved. Her employers had managed to get her escape sorted out, and now all she had to do was pretty easy for her, having done it numerous times before.

"Where?". Now Nina was asking the obvious questions, as she knew exactly where she was meant to go if her cover at CTU was blown.

"The usual pick-up point. Northwest corner". Nina nodded to herself as the woman replied. She noticed Teri looking at the floor, and realised just what Teri had seen. As Teri started to slowly back out of the room, Nina scurried towards the door and met Teri there, trying to keep her in the room.

"Is there anything else?", she asked Teri, trying not to make her any more suspicious.

"That's all right. I know you're busy. I'm gonna let you get back to work". Teri was no good at hiding her feelings, and Nina realised that she had to keep Teri in the room by any means necessary.

"I can't let you go. Not yet. Move back into the room. Slowly. I said move! Against the wall. On your knees. Do it!". Nina shouted at Teri as she locked the door and forced Teri back into the room at gunpoint. She was annoyed at this unexpected turn of events, and hoped that Teri wouldn't be the person who foiled her exfiltration.


	5. Convince Me

Jack was confused. Nina had told him that Kim's body had been found floating in the harbour, yet no body had been found. He rang Mason to try and get to the bottom of it.

"This is Mason" _._ George was in a good mood. He had just heard all about Jack's takedown of the Drazens, plus Jack's family were now safe.

_"_ Hey, it's Jack _"._ George grinned as he heard Jack's voice.

_"_ As usual, I don't know whether to congratulate you or demand your resignation _"._ He knew that Jack wasn't one for the rulebook, but this time, he was impressed by Jack's actions, as well as being relieved that the whole threat against Palmer and the Bauers was over.

_"George, do you know where my daughter is?". Unbeknownst to Geo_ rge, the answer he would give Jack had a lot more weight on it then he would have thought.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Highway Patrol picked her up about a half an hour ago. She's heading over here now under heavy escort. If you'd called once in a while, I could have told you". Jack didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Nina had lied to him about Kim, and that could only mean one thing.

"You need to arrest Nina". Jack said this with both anger and disbelief. He never thought he would have to say such a thing, but the betrayal was proven in his mind now.

"What?". George was confused. Arrest Nina? She was one of their best agents, was a close friend and confidant of Jack and had done a hell of a lot that day to end the threat.

"She's working against us. Don't let her out of the building". Anxiety was building up inside Jack. He cursed himself for letting himself believe the excuse Nina gave him about the keycard, and almost regretted not killing her on that hillside.

"Jack, hold on a sec. What's all this about?". George was willing to do as Jack asked, but he needed to know why Jack wanted him to arrest Nina Myers of all people.

"She told me that the coastguard found Kim's body in the harbour. I confirmed with the coastguard. They never found a body tonight. She was working with the Drazens to set a trap for me". George was stunned. He had suspected a second dirty agent, but Nina?

"Are you sure there wasn't a misunderstanding?". George hoped there was, but even then was starting to believe Jack.

"About Kim being dead? No, George. She lied. There was no misunderstanding". Jack thought of Jamey Farrell. He had known her for a few years, and knew that she would do anything for her son, being a single mother. He contemplated her death, and realised, much to his disgust, that maybe it wasn't suicide after all.

"It doesn't sound like there's any proof either. It's just your word against hers". George was encouraging Jack to find the proof, rather than risk an embarrassing scene at CTU.

"I'll get you your proof. Just don't let her out of your sight". Jack was determined to get the proof, and he knew where to get it.


	6. The Walls Crumble

As Jack drove like a madman through the dark streets of Los Angeles, he called the Archives department, who could get him the proof he would need to stop Nina once and for all.

"Archives. Wilson". Paul Wilson, head of Archives, had had a long day, although nowhere near as dangerous or exciting as the day other CTU agents had.

"Hey, Paul. It's Jack. I need a copy of the security tape from this morning, between 8:50 and 9 a.m. in the ITS, when Jamey committed suicide in there". Jack didn't believe she had indeed killed herself, but thought it was best not to arouse suspicion. He braced himself, aware that what he would see was of a very disturbing nature.

"All right. Let me check. That's weird". Paul was confused, because something didn't add up right for that particular segment.

"What, you got it?". Jack wondered what exactly was weird.

"Yes, sir. Except the tape was erased". Jack was even more convinced of Nina's treachery now. She had the means to erase the tape, and certainly had the motive and opportunity to do so.

"When?". Jack didn't particularly care for such details, but he wanted to be sure.

"This morning". Nina was at CTU most of the morning, and would have had ample time to erase the tape.

"What about the digital backup?". Jack was worried, not knowing whether Nina even knew about the digital backup. If she did, the evidence would be lost and she would get away.

"There's no digital backup system for ITS". Not being very high up in the ranks of CTU, Paul was at a low clearance level. Enough to do his job, not enough to access information he didn't need to see.

"Yes, there is. You just need the proper clearance code. Try C22717. How long is this gonna take?". Jack was nearing CTU, but he was worried that Nina was already on her way out of the building.

"Just a few minutes". Paul's answer relieved Jack. He would have the evidence before he even got back to CTU.

"OK. Get back to me as soon as you can". The look of pure anger and determination that had been frozen on his face for the past few minutes stayed there after he had hung up. Nina had shown her true colours, and Jack was determined to bring her to justice.


	7. Windows To The Soul

Jack's phone rang, and he grabbed it quickly.

"Yeah?". He hoped that Paul had found something.

"Jack, it's Paul Wilson. I got the Jamey Farrell interrogation footage for you". Jack was relieved, and this showed in his face, but not his voice, which was still dominated by other emotions.

"Good. I've got a monitor in my car. Upload it and send it to me so I can take a look at it". Jack didn't know what to expect, torn between two desired outcomes - one, that Jamey had indeed killed herself. Two, that Nina was the murderer. This conflict raged on in his head until the video started playing.

"Oh, my God. Send this over to Mason. His eyes only. Then patch me through to him". Jack's eyes widened as Nina tasered Jamey. Theories ran through his head as to why Nina would want to kill Jamey. His reverie was broken by the sound of Mason's voice.

"Mason". Jack wondered how George would react to the footage, and hoped that he would quickly act upon it and arrest Nina.

"George, I'm sending something over to you. Are you in front of your screen?". Here's your evidence, George, Jack thought as he sent the video to Mason's system.

"Yeah. What is it?". George did not expect to see what he did when he received the video, and his eyes showed this all too well.

"Proof against Nina. She killed Jamey Farrell". George was stunned.

"What? Why...". George was astounded and wanted answers. Why had Nina Myers murdered Jamey Farrell? It made no sense to him.

"Can you see it?". Jack was beginning to realise the true motive of Nina. He knew that both had been working as moles, and that Nina probably saw a discovered Jamey as a threat.

"Uh... yeah. Oh. This is unbelievable. Where are you right now?". George prayed that they weren't too late. Nina wasn't at her desk, so he started a lockdown.

"I'm about five minutes out". Jack wondered what Nina was doing at that time. He assumed that she would be making good her escape, and hoped that she failed.

"OK". George couldn't take his eyes off of the screen. He was witnessing a murder that had taken place just hours before in that very building, by someone he had known for years.

"Find her, George", Jack demanded, as Nina finished her murderous work and stared, with soulless eyes, straight into the camera. Jack looked into her eyes and didn't recognise the person they belonged to.


	8. Erase And Escape

Nina was busy at her laptop, when the lockdown shut down her access. Startled by the alarm, she picked up her phone and called her contact.

"Where are you?". Nina was obviously taking too long to get out of CTU, and she was running out of time.

"I'm leaving now", Nina confirmed to her. She had done her best to extract her information, and hoped that she hadn't left it too late to escape.

"You have 16 minutes to reach the pick-up point. We're routing you through Munich for three days". Nina grew anxious. She had very little time to get out of there, and she was curious about her destination. Although her contact was German, she had never been told to go to Germany before.

"Why Germany? Why can't I come to you directly?". She asked the woman. She didn't realise her mistake until it was too late - Teri would know where she was going!

"I don't know. These are the instructions. You'll need to be untraceable during that time. Make sure nothing can connect you to Germany". The mechanical response was a lot different to the emotions running through Nina's head. She realised that drastic action had to be taken. As she looked at Teri, the woman spoke once more.

"Did you hear me?". Annoyance was evident in her voice.

"Yeah. All right". Nina did not want to be in this situation. She had to get out of there, and she had to make sure nothing could trace her to Germany. Sure, it was a big country, but it was a thread that CTU could pick up, use to find her.

"I'm leaving now, Teri. I'm gonna lock you in from the outside. Someone will find you soon. Everything will be fine". As she spoke, she took out her gun. What she did next would haunt her forever.


	9. The Curtain Falls

Nina sped off in her car, hoping to make it in time. As she turned a corner, she noticed a SUV entering the car park, and knew that it was Jack. She took her gun out and began to fire at Jack's windscreen, but Jack simply kept driving directly towards her and started to fire at her as well. Both were now heading directly for each other at high speed, almost daring the other to swerve out of the way. Nina was the one who did, and she almost got past him, but instead slammed into another car. Still conscious, with a gash to the forehead, she watched as Jack stopped, jumped out of his car and pointed his gun directly at her.

"Put your hands where I can see them! Nina, put your hands on the steering wheel!". Jack was angry at Nina, and wanted nothing more than to hurt her. He opened her door and pulled her out, being pushing her against the car. Grabbing her around the neck with one hand, he pointed his gun directly at her forehead. Nina's terrified eyes met his angry eyes, and she tried to plead with him.

"Jack, if you kill me, you won't know who I work for. You think I work for Drazen, but I don't". She was telling the truth in that she didn't work for Drazen, and hoped that Jack would believe her.

" I trusted you, Nina". Nina saw the quick flash of disappointment that rushed across his eye, and couldn't help but feel a little hurt, even if Jack was just seconds away from killing her.

"I was just doing my job". She wondered why such a statement would justify him not killing her, or even why it would calm him down.

"Your job? My wife and daughter almost died today. How many people that trusted you lost their life today because you were doing your job? Walsh, or Jamey, Ellis? How many others?". Jack's voice was full of anger, and Nina almost told him about Teri, but realised that would be suicidal. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Mason and Tony approaching with a couple of guards, and realised that they wouldn't let Jack kill her, so she decided to argue back.

"How many people died because of you, Jack?". This seemed to refresh Jack's anger, make him even madder, but Nina knew that Jack's chance of killing her had gone now that there were other people in the garage. George Mason approached them and tried to convince Jack to release Nina.

"Jack, take it easy. We need her alive. Come on, Jack. Kim just got here. They're taking her inside right now. Come on". He looked only at Jack, afraid that if he looked at Nina, that he would just let Jack kill her.

"Jack, don't do it". Tony, who had been Nina's boyfriend up until that moment, joined in with George, hoping to get through to Jack.

"Come on, Jack. Come and be with your family. Come on. Let's go. Let's go inside. This is no good. Come on, Jack". George was getting worried. He knew that Jack wouldn't pull the trigger now, but he still wanted a peaceful and quick end to the situation. When Jack finally lowered the weapon, he sighed with relief. As Jack relented, he let Nina go, and she fell to the floor.

"Good, Jack. Come on. Come on. It's OK. You all right? You did the right thing", George encouraged him.

"You wanna take her up?", one of the guards said to the other, who was lifting Nina up from the ground and placing handcuffs on her.

"Come on", George told Jack again, as they turned around started to leave the garage.

"All right. Let's go", one of the guards said. As she was being handcuffed, Nina stared with cold eyes at Tony, who was in a state of disbelief. As she was taken away, he stood there in silence, unsure what to think or do.


End file.
